Jets, Zach Wilson hope to get offense going against forgiving Titans

Zach Wilson’s first NFL game at MetLife Stadium started with two interceptions on his first two pass attempts, included some loud booing after a couple of poorly thrown second-half incompletions and ended with plenty of empty seats in the building.

Wilson and the Jets return to their home field on Sunday to face the Titans, hoping to show progress from that awful performance against New England two weeks ago and give their fans something to cheer.

"There’s no need to do anything special," Wilson said. "We got to put a show on for those guys, obviously, but no need to do anything different than what we do here in practice.

"Last time we were there, it wasn’t a great showing and so they booed us, and it is what it is. But we got to do better and that’s on us, that has nothing to do with those guys. We got to be able to play better."

It really is hard to imagine the winless Jets playing any worse than they have the past two weeks. Wilson threw four picks in that Patriots loss and the Jets were scoreless last Sunday in Denver.

Their overall offensive efficacy has been staggeringly bad.

The Jets (0-3) haven’t scored a point in the first quarter. They haven’t scored a touchdown in the first half. They’re last in points (20), touchdowns (two), rushing touchdowns (zero) and red-zone opportunities (three).

First-time offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is shouldering the blame for the Jets’ woeful performance. But after playing three of the top five defenses in the league, the Jets play a much more forgiving Titans’ unit.

Tennessee is allowing 28 points per game and has given up 10 touchdowns — both in the bottom seven. There is at least a chance for the Jets to look like a functioning offense on Sunday.

"We just got to execute," LaFleur said. "Across the board, we’re not executing."

Defensively, the Jets are coming off a rough game in Denver. But they’re a top 10 defense overall. The Jets are middle of the pack in run defense, which needs to be better against the Titans and Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher the last two seasons.

The Titans will be without two top receivers, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, due to hamstring injuries. That could mean an even greater workload for the NFL’s true workhorse back.

The 6-3, 247-pound Henry averages 26.7 carries and 114.3 yards per game, both league highs.

"He is a massive human being," coach Robert Saleh said. "When this man gets rolling, he is all of, whatever height he is and size, he looks like an offensive lineman carrying the football. He’s a load. He’s deserving of all the accolades he’s gotten and it’s going to be a tremendous challenge this week."

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said the game plan is for the Jets to attack Henry and be aggressive and try to contain him as much as possible.

"I think that’s the best way to go," Ulbrich said. "That’s the philosophy we’re going to carry this week. We’re going to get after him."

The Titans’ run game sets up plenty of play-action opportunities for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Jets will have to contend with that as well as Tannehill’s ability to run bootlegs to either side.

The Jets were expected to do some of these things with Wilson in their offense, but they haven’t been able to establish anything to this point. Wilson believes it’s only a matter of time, though.

"I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as far as where we’re trying to get," Wilson said. "You can’t put a timeline on that. It’s going to take time. We’re just going to keep working it."

Notes & quotes: The Jets activated safeties Ashtyn Davis and Sharrod Neasman from injured reserve, elevated offensive lineman Isaiah Williams from the practice squad to the active roster and waived running back Josh Adams.